It's no secret 2 Chainz loves his jewelry, and while the Atlanta rapper is known to start a riot or two with his raps, he never thought his expensive trinkets would cause such a ruckus.

Earlier Tuesday (May 22), [article id="1685608"]2 Chainz was arrested[/article] In New York's LaGuardia Airport after officials found what they described as "brass knuckles" in his luggage, but it was nothing more than a four-finger ring, the rapper said.

"They tried to assassinate my character, they tried to assassinate my swag," 2 Chainz told MTV News in an exclusive telephone interview. "It was just a negative dilemma earlier where someone misconstrued a piece of jewelry for a weapon and stuff."

Police took Chainz into custody around 1:45 p.m. ET and charged him with misdemeanor possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. "The knuckles were in his personal bag and sounded the alarm," an officer told MTV News on Tuesday.

"I do exclusive pieces. My pieces are actual conversation pieces, like, literally. When you see my gold, when you see my stuff, it's something to conversate about," Deuce explained. "People weren't doing four-finger rings and all that. I just like to set myself apart, so I definitely wasn't trying to beat nobody up on the airplane or nothing."

The rapper was on his way to perform at a North Carolina concert, and when he phoned MTV from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport, he estimated that he spent approximately eight to nine hours behind bars. 2 Chainz eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser, unspecified charge but never got his jewels back. "Yeah, they took it from me, they took the Louis [Vuitton] case that I actually keep the jewelry in, they took that. I couldn't believe it," he said. "Me just trying to explain it was getting too frustrating, me just trying to explain my occupation and then when they finally got to the jail and everybody knew who I was, then they started calling their kids and putting me on the phone with their kids. It was like a weird experience."

Though he was upset about the situation, 2 Chainz chose to focus on the positive. His debut album, Based on a T.R.U. Story, is set to drop August 14, he is currently on tour with Drake, and he's involved with Respect My Vote, an initiative that encourages young people to participate in the voting process.

Now, 2 Chainz hopes to be able to put the arrest behind him. "I don't find that intriguing. You're supposed to make your mistakes during adolescence and use these times right here to kinda fix some of the things you did in the past, so with me I'm doing Respect My Vote, I'm doing all kind of things to try to have some positive news."